Printing Made Affordable By Advances in Technology

Printing technology has developed in leaps and bounds and has made printing so affordable that personal printers have almost become the norm. Most people though are not really aware of the right kind of printer for their needs and end up splurging money unnecessarily on ink and toner. The ink that is used in inkjet printers is liquid and colored with dyes or pigments. Toner is a powder that is used in laser printers. Inkjet printers squirt their ink on to the page being printed through nozzles that are software controlled. Inkjet printers are quite affordable and cost effective for users who do not print too much.

The Magic Of Laser Printing

Laser printing uses toners that are made of finely ground polyester that has a static charge. The laser beam that is controlled by the electronic data in the computer builds up static electricity. This in turn causes the toner to come on to the page where a fuser unit bonds it to the paper. Inkjet printers use ink cartridges one for each color, namely cyan, magenta, yellow, black. The less expensive laser printers print only black and white prints. Toners last longer than ink cartridges and work out cheaper especially if you print large volumes on the laser printer.

Choosing The Right Ink Cartridge

You must know what kind of cartridge you need for your printer, whether it is ink or toner. Ink and toner do the same job, that of printing but they do it in entirely different ways. The ink in the ink cartridge is pigment or dye based. Dye based ink is more popular as it is economical and produce vibrant color prints. However, prints with dye based inks may fade away after many years. Pigment based ink is cherished by professional photographers because it produces crisper prints that are permanent.

Tips To Choose The Right Printer

The type of printer you should buy whether it is a laser printer or an inkjet printer using ink cartridges depends on what kind of printing needs you have. Inkjet printers are perfect for individuals and small families who only require small volume printing of text and color images. Laser printers are required for people or businesses that require high volume printing. Printing of photographs is generally not encouraged in laser printing. The type of printer cartridge you invest in should be decided upon after considering the page yield or the number of pages that can be printed from a cartridge, the cartridge size, and the cost per page.